Heart Evangelista’s 1st series in three years may be her last

Heart Evangelista

As she plans to shift her focus to other aspects of life and career, Heart Evangelista said her new primetime series on GMA 7, “I Left My Heart in Sorsogon,” may be her last major television project in a while.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean, she quickly pointed out, that she will be entirely out of sight.

“I’m not exactly taking a break—just prioritizing a different angle to my career in a way, I guess. Personally, I have been working a lot and I feel like I want to take a breather—just a little bit. But I’m not going anywhere. I will still be very out there,” said the multihyphenate celebrity, who also dabbles in visual arts, fashion, entrepreneurship and social media work.

101 percent

As such, she made sure to give “101 percent” to “Sorsogon,” her first series in three years. “I just thought that I really wanted to do something for GMA, something I haven’t done for them in a while. I wanted to come up with a project to which I can give my 101 percent,” Heart, who was last seen in the 2018 romance soap “My Korean Jagiya,” said in a recent virtual conference.

“Because this might be my last, I don’t know. You never know,” she added. “So, I felt it was the right time for me to do one, and make it really, really good… I missed it so much.”

“And I’m 36. I don’t know what I will look like at 38!” she quipped. She was determined to make the series work, so much so that she passed on a number of big opportunities abroad, like meeting Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

“There were sacrifices and one of them was that I missed meeting Anna Wintour. I was supposed to meet her in her office,” said Heart, who was invited by brands to attend and wear high jewelry on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet. She also missed an invite from the luxury brand Chaumet for an event in Paris,

“But there’s always next year or a next time,” she said.

Heart described “Sorsogon” as a “pivotal” project for her. While her mom is Bicolana, Heart was born and raised in Manila and didn’t have a province to call home. That changed when she started dating now husband, Sorsogon Gov. Chiz Escudero.

“I never really belonged to a certain province growing up because I was a Manila girl. But after I married Chiz, I was like, ‘How can I do my part?’ I know I’m maarte and I love fashion, so what can I do for Sorsogon in my own way?” she related. “And then I had this lightbulb idea.”

She pitched the idea of doing a soap set in the said province to her bosses at GMA. “I suggested; I didn’t demand it!” she said. “It was just an idea I had at that moment. I sent a voice note to my bosses… only if they were interested. I was surprised they liked it,” she said. “Sorsogon is a hidden paradise. Many people haven’t been there yet, so I’m happy GMA is giving them the spotlight.

Chiz was supportive, Heart said, but did end up missing her while she was in the taping bubble. “We were locked-in for a long time, so he got sad. Ramdam niya ang pagkawala sa buhay ko!” she said.

In “Sorsogon,” Heart plays Celeste, fashion designer-socialite, who begrudgingly returns to her hometown in Sorsogon to face the emotional baggage she left behind when she moved to Manila. She resents her critically ill father and his second family who looks down on her. Married to the socialite Tonito (Richard Yap), Celeste gets caught in a romantic entanglement, after she crosses paths with her former lover, Mikoy (Paolo Contis). Directed by Mark Sicat dela Cruz, “Sorsogon,” which airs weeknights after “24 Oras,” also stars Kyline Alcantara, Mavy Legaspi and Michelle Dee.

Clothes as armor

“I can relate to Celeste in some ways, because she’s so fashionable and always dressed up… She uses her clothes as armor because you don’t really know the turmoil happening inside her,” Heart pointed out. “I feel like I have used all the aspects of what I have gone through in life.”

The Kapuso star couldn’t help but get teary-eyed upon seeing the trailer and music video. “I was touched because I know how hard everyone worked on the show while they were away from loved ones. It makes me emotional seeing all our hard work pay off,” she said. INQ